Target Grand Prix 2 p.m. Sunday Chicago Motor Speedway, 3301 S.Laramie, Cicero Tickets, $45-$100; children, $10-$15 (773) 242-CARSor (312) 559-1212
HOLLYWOOD Two months ago, teen singer Christina Aguilera wasunknown to all but a handful of pop music fans. Now, with therelease of the first single from her coming debut album, the18-year-old is becoming a household name.
The single, "Genie in a Bottle," is No. 1 for the fifthconsecutive week, and has sold almost half a million copies since itsJune 22 release. She already has been booked for several TV concertsfeaturing other popular teen acts, such as UPN's late August "SummerMusic Madness," which will also feature Tyrese and fellow teen thrushBritney Spears. And Aguilera is the subject of more than 30 Internetsites.
As part of a whirlwind promotional tour for her album, whicharrives in stores Tuesday, Aguilera will sing the National Anthem atthe Target Grand Prix on Sunday in Cicero.
A skilled singer, Aguilera has been compared to her two mostapparent influences, Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston. SongwriterSteve Kipner, who co-wrote "Genie in a Bottle," said Aguileraimpressed him because she did not need coaching to improvise complexR & B lines, a skill he says he generally sees only in older artists.
"She's internalized all the riffs from Chaka Khan to Etta James toMariah and made them her own," he said.
While this skill may not be immediately apparent on the high-gloss"Genie," a song even Aguilera admits is more commercial thanchallenging, it's apparent on the album's sweeping ballads and bluesymidtempo cuts.
The real Aguilera is more of a child, watching something unfoldbefore her that might be bigger than she ever imagined in the not-too-distant past when she spent hours in the bathtub, singing to ashampoo bottle.
"Kids used to come over and ask if I could play and my mom wouldtell them that was my play, singing all by myself," she said. "Iguess I was weird."
One person who did not think she was weird was her mother, whohonored her child's wishes to perform by involving her with blockparty performances near their suburban Pittsburgh home. That led tolocal press coverage and eventual invitations to perform atprofessional sports games.
At 10, Aguilera went to an open audition in Pittsburgh for theDisney Channel's "New Mickey Mouse Club." Two years passed beforeshe heard anything. Aguilera was 12 when she began flying to Orlandoto film the show, along with another future pop star, Britney Spears,during summer breaks.
While working as a Mouseketeer, Aguilera caught the attention ofSteve Kurtz, who asked to be Aguilera's manager and who sent a tapeof the little girl with star power to RCA Records.
RCA began working on her album, enlisting some of the top names insongwriting, including Diane Warren, Carl Strunken and David Frank.
In the wake of the nation's recent media frenzy over Latin musicalacts, Aguilera has escaped being lumped in with Jennifer Lopez, RickyMartin and Enrique Iglesias, not because she has denied her Hispanicroots, but because her label has tried to avoid pigeonholing her.
Aguilera's father, with whom she has little contact and about whomshe is reluctant to speak, is from Ecuador. Her mother is an Irish-American who studied to become a Spanish translator. Aguilera grewup listening to her parents speak Spanish and hopes to record inSpanish someday - perhaps on an album of salsa music.
"She's of Latin descent, yes," said RCA artists and repertorydirector Ron Fair. "But I think she represents millions of kidsacross America who are of Hispanic descent but are completelyAmerican. She's got the pipes to be the next Barbra Streisand orCeline Dion, and that, to us, is really all that matters."
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